


Matyr

by YomiNoKura



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Arrest, F/M, Fighting, Polyamory, Prison Sex, Slow Burn, Storytelling, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-08-28 02:47:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8428474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YomiNoKura/pseuds/YomiNoKura
Summary: “I was Kaede Williams’ underling, trained in the art of medicine. All our job was to catch the injured members and cart them to safety, but what do you know- we still had to fight along in the end! I watched Kaede die while he-” she points to Bertholdt, groaning. “Tried to run. The absolute coward.”He lowers his head in shame even farther, and she leans over, grabbing his head and hoisting his body up with more strength he expected. “Hnn-” he whimpers as she cuts him off.“I’m a doctor at this point, so I can hurt you without killing you,” her breath is hot and smells like mints against his face, and he just nods, but she lets his hair go to turn to the judges. “But, enough with my antics- I mean, who would want a soldier that graduated rank eighteenth to fool around in front of them?”





	1. Opening

If Hazel Blair had to explain her relationship to Bertholdt Fubar before his betrayal, she would explain that it was a weird complicated relationship. He first caught her the night before the first expedition of his recruitment smoking a cigarette- She smokes sparingly, since Levi and Erd would yell about being healthy. He was only a few months younger than her, so she just shrugged, cigarette perched in between her lips, offering him one from her pack. He accepts, and leans over for a light. It’s a weird thing to see, teenagers smoking at around ten at night, not saying a word to each other. Hazel leans over the balcony, disinterested in what he's gonna say as she finishes.

“....Thanks.” He thanks her. 

“No problem, rank three,” she smirks. “See you on the battlefield, I guess.”

“What’s your name?” he had asked, and the 5’7” girl chuckles, her eyes shining with playfulness.

“Hazel. Hazel Blair. The eighteenth ranked graduate two years ago in the Krolva district. Be nice to me tomorrow if you need medical help.” she nods to him, turning around to smoke her second and last cigarette of the night. “‘Night, Bertholdt.”

“G’night…”

That expedition was terrifying. He didn’t see her until after the expedition, nodding with her senior, jotting down what to write on the report. Hazel waves to him with her pen in hand quickly, before going back to her notes. Her eyebags are huge.

He ends up spending a lot of time in the infirmary after that, unsurprisingly. The stress of betraying his “friends” usually left him sick. Hazel would greet him, no matter what. He would lay on a cot as she checked up on him, and nods for him to sleep.

It’s the least to say that Hazel is mildly disappointed to see that Bertholdt and Reiner are both the Colossal and Armored titan to say the least. “Well, color me fucked,” she mutters as she waves her right hand up, continuing to chase with the rest of the squadrons on 3DMG that were trying to take Eren and Ymir back. “Bertholdt, you’re one piece of shit.”

Hazel is pretty sure she wasn’t surprised when the 104th trainee graduates went into hiding, to overthrow a system. She took the time to visit the graves of Levi’s special squadron that had died on that mission after she had first met Bertholdt. She spent a lot of time at Petra’s grave, just whispering her worries after presenting her flowers. Petra’s father caught her out there, and just smiled gently after her explanation.

She missed Erd, even if her relationship with him was somewhat rocky. They fought about her cigarettes, her seemingly vain attempts at looking pretty, nutrition, and sometimes even ways to train. He never backed down, and she did the same. Erd’s fiancee likes to talk to her when she visits his grave. Apparently, he mentioned her in his letters to his fiancee, and she doesn’t know how to respond at all. “He was good friends with Kaede,” Hazel had stated. “He was a cool guy, past the fights. I never someone so caring past Kaede and Mikal.”

Erd’s ‘widowed’ fiancee nodded. “He was a beautiful man.”

Maybe the fact that the dead had names, legacies left her mildly pissed about Bertholdt’s role in the fall of Wall Maria. He had screamed in terror as Armin, a new titan, dropped the 6’3” teenage murderer into his mouth, crushing his body with his huge teeth. “Goddamn,” Hazel groans. “This kind of eating shit is just so fucking weird to watch.”

“Tell me about it,” Jean responds next to her. “He deserved it though. He killed Marco.” Hazel had never known Marco, but what Jean let on, he was Jean’s best friend in training.

“Mm. But this is so weird. Wanna smoke later?” she offers, and he nods. 

“I thought Levi yelled at you about smoking.”

“Look how screwed tired he is. What he doesn’t know won’t kill him.”

“True… Do you still have the Reiss cinnamons that you nicked a month back?”

“Didn’t even open them. You know I don’t smoke often.”

“Alright. Just checking.”

That was a weird night. Her original plan was to give Jean a cigarette, but she ended up giving everyone a cigarette that night. Armin and his friends refused, but it was funny to watch Levi smoke with the rest of the legion that decided to. A weird smoke cloud forms over all of them, but everyone is too tired to even comment on it. It’s almost a weird therapy for the eight of them.

After that, it seemed like all the titans disappeared. Jean refused to tell her what happened at all, so she didn’t push it. The next few expeditions had the entire legion traveling around and gathering advice along with new imports from modern towns. Then, they finally visited the sea. Everyone was whooping and cheering, except for Levi, Hanji, and the squadron leaders. The guys rip off their shirts, while most of the women go to change. Hazel just stands on top of the sand dune to look at the sea. It’s late afternoon, and so it’s not uncomfortable at all to watch. Eren breaks into a sprint towards the water, slipping into the water effortlessly.

“Salty!” he calls as the rest of his friends runs towards him.

“Why aren’t you going out there, Hazel?” Hanji asks curiously, and Hazel just shrugs.

“I don’t like water, plus this isn’t my dream,” she explains, but Hanji pushes her.

“Go change, Hazel, it’ll be fine,” she reassures, and Hazel nods. Running towards a large tree with her bag in hand, she pulls out a white sundress. Nothing too flashy, but it was still a dress. She grimaces, but changes quickly into it. Hazel hates dresses or anything overtly feminine because she doesn’t feel right in anything like that. 

She runs back out, and Hanji gives her a nod of approval. Hazel blushes as she approaches her fellow soldiers, whom gasp at her. “What?”

“You’re pretty.” Jean blurts out, pausing from his game of splashing with the rest of his friends, and every part of Hazel’s being feels warm. She’s embarrassed, and just nods to him, turning to watch the sea.

He reappeared from the sea. Hazel’s light brown eyes flash with a shock as she watched a humanoid figure come out of the ocean about a hundred feet away from her at the beach. The humid wind blew through her typically straight hair, tangling it even more. “Ah, damn,” she curses, watching even more as the wind dies down.

All of them didn’t watch like her as she watched a tall figure emerged from the waves, something humanoid. It’s still far from the group, but it’s coming closer. She groaned inwardly, not wanting to deal with something like this when they thought it was end of their mission.

But now here Hazel is, dressed in a white sundress blowing in the humid wind with her toes sinking into the sand and the feeling of the surf washing over them as a figure rose from the waves. “Uh, guys?” she called, and they looked up to where she pointed. Everyone stops playing around, and notice the same figure. 

“What the fuck?” Eren burst out as the figure got closer slowly, fighting the waves as it pushed it around in the evening sun. Levi had run to get the blades in his horse’s bag, something he wasn’t ready to let go of just yet after years of fighting.

Mikasa grabs a blade from Levi and all of the soldiers of the Scouting Legion stand still as the figure walks straight towards _her_.

She knew immediately who it is when she could make out a grey-blue shirt and messy black hair and she waves to the others behind her to stand down.

“But why?” Jean demands, and she shushes him, the foam of the sea tickles both of their feet.

“It’s Bertholdt.” the impact of her words ring through the rest of them, enough to have Armin turn towards her, shaking. “I swear it.”

“How do you know? That should be impossible from what we know!"

“Just trust me.”

Bertholdt gets even closer, and she calls out, “Bertholdt?”

His eyes are piercing. How did she never notice that?

“Hazel? Eren? Jean? Armin? M-Mikasa?” he sounds confused, but she doesn’t let her guard down. “Where.. Am I?” His shirt is torn, and his top harness is snapped apart. He’s completely soaked to the bone, and Hazel just watches him as he gets closer to her.

Levi pulls out the handcuffs from behind his back silently, and Jean nods in the corner of your left eye. “You’re outside the walls- at the ocean. You just..appeared.” Hazel’s tone is confused, but tries to keep it light.

“Oh.”

Levi tackles him and slips the handcuffs on his wrists before he could react. Bertholdt panics, his eyes never letting go of her face.

\---  
Hazel groans inwardly. It’s been a few days after Bertholdt was found and arrested on the spot, and thrown in jail. She was instructed to go back to squadron duties, and so she did as she was told. Hanji had called for her just a couple of minutes ago. Before she goes in, she knocks on the door with her white gloves. She hears Hanji’s “Come in.” Opening the door, Hazel starts.

“You wanted to see me?”

Hanji nods. “I did. You know Bertholdt’s trial is soon, correct?”

“Yeah, what about it?” she responds, “What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to testify and convince the judges shouldn’t assign the death of Bertholdt.”

“Why would you want me?” Hazel demands, and Hanji’s lips curl into a smirk.

“You’re a doctor. No one fucks with doctors, especially military doctors.”  
\---  
“Bertholdt Fubar.” Historia sits on a chair of the court three days after Hazel’s conversation with Hanji, high above Hazel, Levi, Hanji and rest of the ones chosen to spectate watch on from the sides. She’s grown used to her role as queen of the walls, a system the rest of the people weren’t keen on abolishing yet despite the entire destruction of the titans and the revolution and exposure of the Reiss family. “You, along with Reiner Braun single handedly caused the destruction and threat to our population with the loss of Wall Maria, then instigated the battle of Trost. The two of you also betrayed the trust of the 104th Trainee Regiment, and also was the cause of the death of Erwin Smith, the 13th Commander of the Scouting Legion.” 

He’s in chains. All he can do is look down to the floor as Historia names his crimes. “It’s all true,” he starts shakily, his chain rattling. “I did it all. I-” Hazel wants to feel bad, but then again, he smoked a cigarette with her, pretending he wasn’t someone else.

“I wasn’t finished. I want Hazel Blair, stand in leader of the medical support team to speak about the latest expedition.”

She flushes pink as she stands up from her seat and make her way in front of the court with her papers. “May I have permission to kick the defendant?” she starts. “I need to get some facts straight before I start my report. No one wants a soft hearted girl with a degree in medicine to not be able to handle animals.”

“No serious injury.” Historia nods, and Hazel grins, depravity written all over her face.

Turning around, she can tell Bertholdt is terrified of what she could possibly do to him, since she was a figure of authority now, as the assistant lead doctor of the support team. She takes off her white gloves elegantly before stuffing them into your back pocket. “Now, as all of you know, I am the temporary leader of the medical support team that was established a good nine months ago.” 

Everyone nods. It’s her show. Bertholdt can see the spark of depravity within her eyes when he looks up from her.

Hazel strolls around the court floor before she stomps on Bertholdt’s back. Hard. He cries out, but she simply turn your attention to the spectators and judges. “I was Kaede Williams’ underling, trained in the art of medicine. All our job was to catch the injured members and cart them to safety, but what do you know- we still had to fight along in the end! I watched Kaede die while he-” she points to Bertholdt, groaning. “Tried to run. The absolute coward.”

He lowers his head in shame even farther, and Hazel leans over, grabbing his head and hoisting his body up with more strength he expected. “Hnn-” he whimpers as she cuts him off. His nose starts bleeding as everyone just looks on.

“I’m a doctor at this point, so I can hurt you without killing you,” her breath is hot and smells like mints against his face, and he just nods, but she lets his hair go to turn to the judges. “But, enough with my antics- I mean, who would want a soldier that graduated rank eighteenth to fool around in front of them?” she glances at her papers, and start to read it off. “In our latest expedition leading after the destruction of all the titans, we’ve discovered a town miles outside the walls that’s flourishing with technology more advanced than we can ever imagine. We’ve submitted a trade request with them and talked to the townspeople if they even knew titans existed.

They did- but only for two years since they evolved with no restraints from the government. In theory, we could’ve been up to par with them, but since the royal family took such measures to stay power, we’re hundreds of years behind.

Would we have known of this if Bertholdt didn’t kick down that wall. His intentions were to kill us, but look what happened instead.” Hazel finishes, tapping the top of her report papers.

“Do you mean to defend a man that has killed thousands?” a judge questions, and she shakes her head.

“No. He still killed thousands and we leave it at that. He’s the reason why Erwin, Kaede, and others have died. But, he lifted the veil to what both Eren’s abilities are and what the royal family did before Historia.” she responds calmly. “Would we still live in the dark about Eren’s abilities? Know of the corruption within the Reiss family?”

Historia nods. “I see. What do you propose we do with the defendant, if we were not to kill him?”

She gulps. “Well, the Scouting Legion would prefer to have full custody of Bertholdt, with monitoring all day and night before we decide what to do next with him.” Out of the corner of her eye, she see Hanji nod viciously at your impulsive statement and Levi punching her back. Hanji winces.

“As much as I say we should hand custody over, it’s in the hands of the judges.” Historia responds flatly. “How many agree to this idea?”

All of them raise their hands as they look down on Hazel’s nervous face, and nod.

“We approve the Scouting Legion to have full custody of Bertholdt Fubar until they figure out a way to make him useful to serve out his sentence.” the head judge rules, banging his gavel.

She sighs in relief.

“I’m glad I didn’t screw that up,” she groans, stretching her arms out in the carriage back to the Scouting Legion quarters.

“Tell me about it,” Levi responds, studying her. “I was pretty sure you were referencing what I did to Eren way back when this all started.”  
“I did. It was effective when you did it, so why not try it again?”

Levi just rolls his eyes. “You’ve been in the Scouting Legion for almost two years, and you’re still annoying.”

She winks. “You know it, Captain.”

He smacks her on the head, hard.

“Ow!”  
\---  
“Wait. Why do you want _me_ to watch him?” she demands to Hanji the next day, waving her arms. “I’m useless at anything you give me besides healing!”

“Exactly.” Hanji states calmly. “If anyone tries to seriously kill him, you’ll be able to fix him up and let him heal faster.”

“But-”

“Look. We just gained custody of who we thought was humanity’s enemy. Someone will try to kill him. Whether it be today or two months from now, we need someone to pick up the guard duty who’s skilled enough.”

“What about the medical squad? They’ll be without a leader. Testifying for him is one thing, but this is honestly getting so damn ridiculous.”

“I’ve handled that already. Liam will train for a couple of months before the expedition.”

She stays silent. “So what do I have to do?”

“You watch. You heal, and you make sure he can trust us.”  
\---  
“Uh…..Are you gonna just watch me all day..?” Bertholdt’s now chained to his bed, and she nods, sitting on a stool in front of his cell. Her dark brown hair looked almost black in this lighting, but with the torch, he can make out her freckles and weirdly pale skin for someone that had been on expeditions for way longer for him.

“I’ve been told to! I have to watch you and everything, since you are kinda, you know…” she sighs, crossing her arms. “Humanity’s criminal?” she plants herself on the stool in front of his cell. “I wish I was squadron leader, but hey, what can you do? I don’t want Hanji to yell at me. That’s honestly scarier than Levi yelling at you.”

He nods understandingly. “I know. I’m sorry about this, being a former team leader to guard duty..”

She shakes her head. “It’s fine. I’m bitter, but I’ll get over it. Besides, a doctor should be guarding you. Too many enemies hidden, you know?”

“I bet I don’t have as many as you,” he jokes, and she chuckles.

“You can say that, but I have Captain Levi on my ass a majority of the time. Plus your friends hate me nitpicking their forms. But nothing can match up to this scar I got back when I was a trainee.” she points to the scar on her left cheek.

“How did you-”

“Another time. If I’m gonna guard you, I might as well talk about myself, huh?” Hazel’s eyes are a weird light brown that manage to scare him with the interest of studying in her eyes. It wasn’t as intense as Hanji’s looks, but this was still unsettling in its own right.

That’s how it starts. The weird relationship of guard and prisoner.


	2. Amused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jean had never thought he was gay. I mean, he’s only dreamed of being with girls, like Mikasa, and maybe Hazel. But with him leaning on Bertholdt, it felt nice, comfortable, beautiful. It was like the three of them fit together like a simple puzzle piece. Hazel starts to snooze off, and Jean just closes his eyes when gets comfortable against Bertholdt, who just smiles gently. Bertholdt had never thought he would be mildly gay either, despite the rumors of him and Reiner in kahoots. But then, there was Hazel to the both of them. Why was she just so...likable?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to go over this again. Oops.

“How did you even get into medicine?” Bert asks the next day as Hazel walks in with a sketchbook and pencils, adjusting her position on the stool.

 

“Not everyone has a natural bloodlust here,” she says simply, beginning to sketch something that he can’t see at all. “I think Erwin and Hanji saw that when I didn’t want to participate in any hand-to-hand combat. Kaede was told of me, and took me in, and basically gave me a crash course in six years of medicine in one and a half years. I think that’s around the time I got into sketching- I had to sketch out herbs and poisonous leaves to memorize how they looked,” she explains, rubbing out a part she didn’t like, her eyebrows giving her frustration away. “I still hate screwing up when I draw. But, what can you do?”

 

“I guess it’s part of your control, but also not,” he replies, and her eyes are crinkled up in a grin. “What are you-”

 

“You. Don’t get me wrong-! It’s that I like looking at detail!” Hazel is flustered, not wanting to explain further than that. “I must sound weird. Sorry about that.”

 

“It’s better than...Hanji.” he decides to answer.

 

~~~  
“Hey Bert,” she greets, pulling up a stool to sit against the wall. “Anything new?” It’s about a month into his prison sentence now, with Hazel sitting in front of his cell on a stool, sometimes reading a book or talking about herself. Bertholdt finds her fascinating, as she talked about some of her weirdest injuries that she had to treat. Today, she looked even more excited than usual.

 

“Just the fact I’ve come to my depression, my feet are huge compared to me, and I worry about Annie,” he responds, and Hazel chuckles.

 

“I dunno about Annie, or much about the titan shifter abilities, but I think that will be broken eventually. Haven’t you heard?”

 

Bertholdt shifts his eyes up. “What?”

 

“Someone heard her heartbeat in that crystal. It’s a little unstable, but it should stabilize soon.” Hazel grins at him. “I was there. I listened to it. She’ll pull through. I-”

 

“Thanks,” he interrupts. “For you know, telling me.”

 

Hazel just nods. It seems that his nervous facade was breaking away slowly, as the end of humanity wasn’t even such a stressful thing to him now. People forgave him, even his own class of comrades had eventually. She just wasn’t sure about herself. Why would she? She had no family that was dead, much less anyone important to even avenge. But at the same idea, did she had to consider she had no reason to hate him as time passed. Leaning back into her stool, she watches Bertholdt again.

 

“Do you ever get bored watching me?” Bertholdt questions to his guard. She shakes her head, before deciding on an answer that sounds somewhat normal.

 

“Nah. I like to study behavior patterns sort of… what people do, why they do it, uh.,” she states, running her hand through her smooth dark brown hair. “It makes me understand why someone acts out the way they do,” she continues excitedly, terrifying Bertholdt how similar she looked like Hanji, that glimmer of excitement that no one could explain gave her an animalistic look that almost made him flinch.  
\---  
“How is he?” Jean asks later that day, and Hazel just shrugged. Jean was a changed teenager, talking to you more after you snatched a pack of cigarettes from Rod Reiss after Historia beat the living hell out of him for being such a shit father. He walked into your infirmary, asking for who did piercings in the Scouting Legion.

 

“That’s Tori. She’s that black haired woman with the sort of side cut. She’s a lot safer than anyone else that does them. She did this ring for me next to my stud.”

 

The next day, Jean has simple black studs in his lobes. Hazel had nodded, grinning. “Nice, Horseface.” She doesn’t mention his slightly shaggier hair, the longer hair weirdly complimenting his weird face.

 

“Thank you, nurse. How are you doing?”

 

“Pretty good,” she had responded, adjusting her jacket. “What’s the next expedition?”

 

“We explore the areas around the walls. Possibly further. I know Eren and his friends want to visit the sea, finally. I want to know what’s out there, to be honest.”

 

“Don’t we all,” Hazel chuckles. “I bet it’s somewhat the same out there.”

 

“I bet not,” he argues. “It’s a world that’s completely different from our traditions, culture, and so much else. Their modification of the land could be obvious.”

 

“Maybe, Horseface.” she rolls her eyes. “It took three hundred years of being trapped and you to pretend to be Eren twice. Impressive.”

 

Maybe it was on impulse that he kissed her. He has no damn reason to kiss her at all, since he still had lingering feelings for Mikasa, someone he had been so interested in for the last few years. When they parted, she just screeched, “KIRSTEIN WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK!” and swat him away, blushing. He never explained why he kissed her, and they left it at that, continuing to be friends.

 

Cut to present day. Hazel was granted a break for the day, around lunchtime so Hanji could interview him about his village more and more. She just shrugs about the question about Bertholdt, before she pops open a water bottle, an import that was presented by one of the villages they had visited a couple months before. She chugs the entire bottle down before she responds. “He’s fine. Maybe a little defensive, but that’s to be expected. After the prison case in Orvud, I don’t think anyone wants a Military Police officer in charge of him, weirdly enough.”

 

“That’s weird,” Jean responds, pulling out a cigarette from the pack in the pocket in the back of his uniform pants. “Everything happened so fast. I even missed my own birthday, apparently.”

 

“Stop smoking,” she demands, snatching his cigarette and tossing it over the balcony outside of the mess hall. “There’s not much of reason to do any of it anymore. Plus it’s shit for your lungs, soldier boy.”

 

“You’ve smoked more often than me, Hazel, so you’re the last one to even talk.” he retorts, and she snatches the pack from the back pocket of his pants, huffing.

 

“I’ve quit, thank you very much,” she snorts, pitching the pack over the balcony. “I just realized they were garbage for my system.”

 

“Didn’t stop you before.”

 

She pauses. “Just don’t do it, Kirstein. We have no more reasons to smoke at such a young age.”

 

His amber eyes just follow her face. “I’ll try.”

 

“Happy Late Birthday by the way, loser.” Hazel greets a couple of days later, with a huge box with holes everywhere as she walks into Jean’s room.

 

“Hazel you didn’t need to-”

 

“Open the box, Kirstein. I didn’t go all the way into town to buy you something this big.” Hazel rolls her eyes as Jean protests at his late birthday present within the huge box.

 

“You didn’t have to-”

 

“Listen. I did this out of the love from my tiny, cold, calculating heart. Just open it, Horseface.” Hazel snorts sarcastically. “It’s not out of obligation, if it makes you feel better. Just open it already, loser.”

 

“Okay, asshole!” he retorts, taking the box from her as she places it on the floor gently. Something barks, and Jean looks at her in shock . _“No. Way.”_ He pulls open the lid, and the face of a sweet block dog pops out, licking Jean’s face.

 

“Yeah way, this little guy I’ve been calling Fido but-” Hazel is cut off again by a kiss from Jean. “Wha-?”

 

“Thanks, Hazel.” He pulls her close to him as “Fido” runs around their legs.   
~~~  
“This is way too much,” she mumbles, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Hazel’s been forced into a black dress with gold beading everywhere. Hazel can barely breathe comfortably under all the layers, corset, and her hair pulled back into a neat bun. “Why can’t I wear my formal uniform?” she complains to Hanji, who’s dressed in a dark blue jacket over her uniform that has gold buttons down the front, instead of the typical short jacket.

 

“You’re the doctor watching over humanity’s criminal for the last two months. What we’re guessing, after you beat the living hell out of him in court, they need to see you as relatable- as one of them.” Hanji pats your bare shoulder. “Think of it as deception.”

 

“Why deception?”

 

“Because you’re a military officer. Someone who is the guard of a demon. A lion in sheep’s clothing.”

 

Hazel groans. “I have a bad feeling about those guys we left to watch Bertholdt. Also, this corset is fucking killing me.”

 

“We’ll be back in a couple of hours. Let’s go, we can’t be late.”

 

The gala is boring. Something she can’t stand as the snow blows over outside while nobles bother her with questions about watching Bertholdt. “Yes, he’s in good care since he has not tried to fight against his sentence or me.”

 

“Why do you see him as human?” a blonde-haired girl with deep green eyes questions her.

 

She pauses, deciding on a simple answer.

 

“He is my charge, even if he is a prisoner. I have no emotional ties, but, I must see him as human to heal him in times where he’s injured.”

 

That feeling she had about those two Hanji and Levi to watch Bertholdt grew as time wore on. She pulls Hanji over as the rest of the Scouting Legion is oblivious to your panic. “Hanji. I need to leave, now. I’ll need someone good in fighting. I have a bad feeling about those two we left behind.”

 

Hanji nods. “I’ll get Jean and excuse your absence for an emergency. Wait here.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Jean walks over with Hanji, who looks ready to kill with his glass chalice clenched tightly. “I always knew there was something off with those guys. They’re one of those wall supremacists.” he snorts. “Let’s go, I guess.”

 

Hanji groans. “I should go, but if something is wrong, Jean, keep them tied up and I’ll yell at them. When this party ends, you damn well know I’ll hightail it out of here.”

 

“I….” she starts, but Hanji waves her away. 

 

“Go.”

 

The ride back to the Scouting Legion headquarters is a quiet one. Jean looks out of the window, and Hazel rips out her bun. Sorry Hanji.

 

“Thanks. For going back with me.” she tries as she takes off the earrings, and Jean just shrugs.

 

“The inner wall. Isn’t what it was I thought, you know? I didn’t expect such idiots act like I’ve done nothing and just have tall tales.” I nod as Jean keeps talking, replacing the jeweled earrings with my typical metal studs. “Such….sheltered people.”

 

“No one wants to be against titans, not even us when we stayed back for the Scouting Legion.” I shrug. “I hate being in this goddamn dress than I do facing against titans.”

 

Jean snorts. “You’re weird for a senior member.”

 

“Still one that graduated two years before you, and I’m only a year older.” I take off the gloves and heels, shoving them into the ridiculous handbag Hanji gave me earlier, that matched this ugly dress. “I’m changing before we see what’s going on. I can’t run in this corset.” 

 

Jean laughs. “Alright, princess.”

 

The carriage suddenly jolts to a stop. Jean and Hazel nod to each other, and they step out of the carriage. Hazel tips the driver quickly, and the two soldier both dash into headquarters quickly, despite the fact Hazel is wearing a ballgown. Mikal opens the door for us, and Hazel yells a quick thank you. When they get to her room, they’re both panting in exhaustion. But in true Hazel fashion, she can’t stop there, so she starts unbuttoning her dress next to Jean. He just looks at her with his painted in surprise and possible depravity, but she just shrugs. “What? Help me with these buttons right here,” she commands, and he nods.

 

With Jean’s help, she’s out of the dress even faster, and laughs at her reflection of fucked up makeup. Rifling through her drawers, she pulls a random pair of shorts and shirt before dragging a red-faced Jean with her. She would’ve sprinted to the dungeons, but she walks quickly towards it with Jean just trailing behind her around the corners and as she jumps down the stairs into the dungeon. Hazel enjoys being right a majority of the time, but this was one exception.

 

Laik and Marcel were beating the hell out of Bertholdt. Bertholdt can only groan in pain every time one of them kicks him. “What the hell are you two doing?” she demands, and the two of them snap their heads up in attention.

 

“Having justice, can’t you see?” Marcel snorts, letting go of Bertholdt. “He’s killed off so many.” He steps towards me, and she can see why the hell she didn’t trust them.

 

Her fist immediately swings into the side of his head before he has a chance to react. He reels back from the impact, and she jumps into a swift kick in the head. Jean runs over to Laik and grabs him by the hair and throws him out of the cell. Stomping on Laik’s stomach, he takes the jail keys back from him and toss them to me. The two of them are down for the count.

 

“Stomp to the stomach? Interesting choice, Horseface.”

 

“I thought you didn’t like fighting, princess.”

 

She lets Jean drag the two assholes over to the far corner of the dungeon as she slips into the cell to check Bertholdt’s wounds. Steam is everywhere at this point as she checks over his face and abdomen. Tracing over his back, he whimpers at her light touch. “Oi, Horseface, go outside and grab some snow. He’s got some open wounds.” Hazel commands, pointing at the dungeon stairs

 

Jean nods. He runs off, and she just sighs in frustration. “They….betrayed us.”

 

Bertholdt just looks away from me. “It’s because I decided to become a monster for my homeland. I...don’t know how to atone, but at the same time, I don’t care for anyone outside of Reiner and Annie.”

 

She just rolls her eyes. “You have to find atonement for yourself, and I don’t care if you don’t care about my wellbeing. I’m your guard, and your doctor.” It’s a small lie, but it seems to calm him down.

 

“You’re weird.” Bertholdt notes quietly. 

 

“I get that a lot.”

 

Jean comes back, and she steps out of the cell for the bucket of snow, and he studies her. About five feet tall and a few more inches of determination, with remnants of makeup, blood, and leftover rage painted on her. Hazel is average when it comes to looks, with her face symmetrical with her lips being oddly out of proportion with how puffy and plump they are, but it’s a slight imperfection. She has a look of stark anger as she takes the bucket, slapping herself with her right hand, adding on her anger. She’s muttering curses under her breath, and Bertholdt’s almost nervous as her quiet tone is dark and hateful. “Hazel-”

 

“WHAT?” she growls as he winces. “Oh, uh, what’s up?”

 

“...Thanks.”

 

“Mmmmm. No problem, Bertholdt,” she muses, switching gears and continuing to help Bertholdt’s body heal faster than it already did. “You should be okay for tonight though. But that means papers to fill out when Levi and Hanji get back….”

 

“But, thank you so much,” he responds, face muffled. “I’ve never had anyone outside of Annie and Reiner to care about me.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. We know.”

 

Jean chuckles. “You’re a real dick sometimes, Bert. It’s okay though.”

 

Bertholdt makes a noise of protest as Hazel leans over to punch Jean in the knee. He goes down, cussing, and Hazel laughs at him stupidly. Before the rest of the Scouting Legion shuffle in from a night of partying, it’s almost peaceful for the three of them to hang out in that dungeon, swapping pieces of gossip around their circle. Hazel unlocks Bertholdt’s wrists from his chains, and throws her legs on him and leans back on Jean, yawning. “You guys are the only people I talk to at this point, y’know?” she admits sleepily. “Not that I mind.”

 

Jean throws an arm around Hazel, leaning his head towards her shoulder. “Whatever, Nutmeg.” he snorts, and Bertholdt sighs.

 

“‘S Hazel…. not Nutmeg,” Hazel murmurs, eyes closing slowly. Bertholdt wants to lay next to her as well, but he stops himself from reaching towards her. Hazel half opens her eyes, and silently nods to Bertholdt to get closer. The boy shyly crawls over to lean between Hazel and Jean. Jean just separates from Hazel for Bertholdt to be sandwiched between the two.

 

Jean had never thought he was gay. I mean, he’s only dreamed of being with girls, like Mikasa, and maybe Hazel. But with him leaning on Bertholdt, it felt nice, comfortable, beautiful. It was like the three of them fit together like a simple puzzle piece. Hazel starts to snooze off, and Jean just closes his eyes when gets comfortable against Bertholdt, who just smiles gently. Bertholdt had never thought he would be mildly gay either, despite the rumors of him and Reiner in kahoots. But then, there was Hazel to the both of them. Why was she just so...likable?

 

Never mind that. Tendrils of sleep pulled him in, and he closes his eyes.

 

When Hanji and Levi walk down the stairs of the dungeon, they see the three of them curled up and snoozing inside Bertholdt’s cell, as long with Laik and Marcel tied up in the corner.


End file.
